This is from the blurb in US Esquire, accompanying Barnett's absurd article;

"For the first time, someone with a position in the government explains what we're really undertaking when we go to war in Iraq. It's not just about disarmament. Rather, the United States is redrawing the map of the region, we are shrinking the Gap (to use Barnett's term), we are changing the course of history by adopting a good-offense-is-the-best-defense strategy.

This is an entirely unprecedented look inside the thinking that will guide our defense strategy over the next five to ten years. It's a fantastic and challenging story. In November, Barnett came and presented his philosophy of global conflict to our staff. It was amazing and kind of breathtaking. It made each of us feel as though we had a slightly better grip on some of the most frightening issues ever to face our country and the world. I hope it has the same effect on you, making your life a little better."

If this doesn;t make you pray for nuclear holocaust immediately....

The premises here are just unbelievable. I am just in a state of continual amazement at the state of IR. Being an IR academic seems to be the easiest job in the world - three steps, one accept the inherent moral goodness of the US administration in its benign and enlightened wisdom (after all now its created the perfectly functioning society it would be mad to not share this knowledge with others right? I mean cultural and social diversity is so C18th...) second the right of US military to intervene any and everywhere in pursuit of the spread of this particular kind of tough love (their moral integrity allowing them to slipstream tiresome, corrupt and slow international legal frameworks) and third simply write down the first half baked analogy that comes to mind and see where it takes you! Don't be afraid to think creatively - after all - it's your research! Why not give it a flavour of your own personality by including some of your own regional or racial prejudices?

So I say - armageddon now please! Let's give the cockroaches a few million years to themselves on this planet and see if they can;t evolve further and faster cooperatively than we've managed - culminating in our "cooperate or die" approach.